1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of well drilling, and more in particular to the field of transporting well drilling accessories. More particularly, the present invention relates to a drill pipe screen transporter device, which is fixedly attached to a transporter, and which drill pipe screen transporter device supports a drill pipe screen for inserting and/or extracting the drill pipe screen into and out of a derrick assembly.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
During bore hole forming and completion operations, it is necessary to make up and/or break down long strings of tubular articles, such as drill pipes and casings. A string of drill pipe may be thousands of feet long. It may, therefore, be necessary to transport pipe joints which have a length ranging from between approximately 28 to 32 feet from a pipe rack, which is generally located away from the rig up to the rig floor. When being tripped out of the derrick, the string of drill pipe is generally broken into separate joints and returned to the pipe rack.
The handling of oil well pipe is one of the most dangerous jobs on a drilling rig. Some of the pipe joints may weigh thousands of pounds, making it difficult to move the pipe from a horizontal position below and away from the rig into a vertical position overlying the center of the hole in the rig.
In drilling wells of this type, it is common practice to provide a derrick of suitable height in order to accommodate the handling of drill pipes, casing tubing, and other types of pipes used in the drilling of the well and in producing oil from the well. For example, presently a derrick is constructed which is approximately 135 feet high and which is provided with suitable hoisting devices for handling drill pipe in approximately 80 foot sections. These sections are commonly known as “fourbles” and generally are comprised of four standard drill pipes. Each of the drill pipes are about twenty feet long, and are coupled together as a unit.
The use of drilling fluids for the drilling of oil and gas wells is well known. The drilling fluid serves many purposes, such as, for example, suppression of reservoir pressure; lubrication of the drill pipes; and cooling of the bottom hole assemblies. The bottom hole assemblies may contain components such as, for example, bits, stabilizers, and drilling tools. Often times, the bottom hole assemblies contain electronic devices, such as, for example, microprocessors and sensors. The microprocessors are used to collect and/or transmit data which are collected by the sensors located in the bottom-hole assemblies.
Fluids used in drilling may contain different components, such as, for example, mud, chemicals, drill cuttings, and metal shavings. The particle size of these components may vary from one micron to several inches. Additionally, the rig crew may inadvertently drop tools, gloves, rags and other undesired objects into the well bore. The undesirable debris is generally detrimental to the derrick and/or the transporters. For example, this debris can cause failures in the electrical components located in the bottom aperture assemblies of the derrick. Therefore, the derrick operators may find it highly desirable to filter the drilling fluid in order to remove the debris.
In the drilling of a subterranean rock formation, tubing, such as a drill stem assembly or a drill pipe string, conducts drill mud or drilling fluids down hole to the tools in the derrick. These tools may be a mud motors or drill bits. Drilling fluids are circulated down hole through the tubing for a several reasons, one of which, for example, involves the carrying of the drill cuttings up an annulus about the tubing of the derrick, and to the surface for screening, reconditioning and recirculation. In drilling with coiled tubing, mud motors are powered by the flow of drilling fluids and are used to rotate the bit. In conventional rotary drilling, the drill pipe string is used to rotate the drill bits. In either case, there are one or more connections in which a drill pipe screen can be installed in order to intercept the debris and other oversize material which are carried by the drilling fluids and which material could interfere with the down hole tools. Ideally, a retrievable drill pipe screen is used such that the drill pipe screen may be occasionally removed, cleaned, and reinstalled without having to extract the tubing from the derrick hole.
In the drilling of subterranean wells, it is often desirable to filter the drilling fluid so that the drilling fluid does not contain any solids which can plug or damage any of the down-hole tools. It, therefore, has been common practice to install a filter at the mud pump. However, this filter has often proved to be inadequate, providing no protection for debris that may be accidentally dropped into the tubular drill string, especially during the process of assemblage of the tubular drill string on the rig floor. To alleviate this potential problem, mud screens have been inserted into the tubular drill string. However, these mud screens have had the disadvantage of being cumbersome to install and even more difficult to remove and/or to clean. In most instances, the removal of the mud screens can only be accomplished by tripping the pipe out of the hole, which may be impossible if the pipe is stuck. If left in place, the down-hole screen will generally act to block any tools, such as, for example, survey instruments, string shots and other devices which may be necessary for the drilling operation. In some instances, the down-hole screen may become plugged, thereby resulting in limiting the flow of fluid until the down-hole screen is removed and cleaned. Down-hole screens, heretofore, have not been able to be removed from the derrick without running the risk of the debris captured by the down-hole screen escaping from the during its removal, resulting in plugging the down-hole devices that were initially meant to be protected.
Sand control screens are utilized for various reasons in subterranean wells. The term “sand control screen” derives from it early use in preventing the production of sand along with fluids from formations. A sand control screen is typically suspended from the production tubing extending in to the earth's surface and positioned in a wellbore opposite a productive formation. In this way, the sand control screen excludes the produced sand while permitting the valuable fluids to enter the tubing for transport to the earth's surface.
Other operations in which sand control screens are utilized include fracturing and gravel packing operations. In fracturing and gravel packing operations, material referred to as “proppant” or “gravel” is usually suspended in slurry, and pumped down the tubing and into the annular space between the sand control screen and the metal casing lining the wellbore. This material typically accumulates in the annular space and eventually fills the annular space to completely cover the exterior surface of the sand control screen. The sand control screen prevents this material from being pumped back to the earth's surface.
It is well known to those skilled in the art that a screen be retrievably attached to and suspended from production tubing. Such screens provide a means of retrieval and replacement of the screens adjacent to a productive formation.
In the past, choker straps or cinch straps have been used to insert and extract a drill pipe screen from a derrick. However, these straps tend to become loosened or unconnected thereby dropping the drill pipe screen.
These prior art devices generally include a cylindrical screen that has an external fishing neck. However, these types of devices have many disadvantages. For instance, the openings contained in the top have a limited flow-through area. Additionally, the external fishing neck has an inherent weak point at the stem, thereby making it possible for the stem to break off while in the tubular members, which would be highly undesirable and/or dangerous, as those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize.
There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a device for handling a drill pipe screen in a more efficient and safer manner compared to the prior art devices.